young volcanos
by one hundred sleepless nights
Summary: Been trying hard not to get into trouble. —Dylan/Josh. June exchange fanfic, for ailes du neige.


for the june fanfic exchange.

**dedication: **to ailes du neige  
**prompts: **"you taste like a midsummer's night breeze", lana del ray/flourescent adolescence (the song), singing in the shower, & flirty baristas

**young volcanos**

The club is crowded and noisy, yet he easily homes onto her.

To be fair, he muses, it's not too difficult. Her fiery hair tumbles down her back as she twists her head to survey the growing horde of people. Her viridian eyes are sharp, clouded with a haze of boredom.

"Dylan," he drawls lazily, loping to lounge next to her.

She barely spares him a glance, "Josh."

Josh runs his eyes over her appreciatively. In sheer black tights, a formfitting bodycon skirt and a teal asymmetrical top paired with ankle booties, she's stunning. Dylan is shockingly more modest than the other girls in the club, with their skin-tight mini-dresses and plunging necklines.

"Hey there," the bartender shuffles over, leaning forwards so her cleavage hangs out of her shirt. The blonde licks her lips suggestively, trailing a blush pink nail down Josh's arm. "Anything I can get for you?"

Dylan scoffs disdainfully, rolling her eyes.

"Nope," Josh replies cheekily. "But whatever this lovely lady here wants," he gestures energetically to Dylan. He expects a witty retort or at least a sharp glower of acknowledgement, but no, she sits there, shoulders tense, back straight.

"No thanks," she mutters between a stiff jaw. Languidly, she flows off her barstool and steps towards the exit, heels click-clacking. Dylan raises a hand to him, a silent goodbye.

And then she's gone, leaving Josh slouching, the small of his back resting against the bar, wondering how she had changed so much, too much.

xoxo

Josh can recall a time when she was utterly different, yet almost the same. There's one moment that sticks in his mind like gum on concrete. It had been a summer evening, back in Westchester, when everyone was still together. The girls had spent hours dolling themselves up for a party and the males had appeared sloppy compared to them.

They had crammed themselves into a tiny camera frame. Dylan had taken his breath away, in a rich green mini-dress, fish net stockings and towering stilettos, her pouty crimson lips seductively blowing a kiss.

It's all just memories and dreams now.

He still has that picture.

xoxo

"Dyl-pickle!" Josh sing-songs in a falsetto, standing over the redhead loafing by the pool. He attempts to ignore how alluring she is in a snow white bikini and her messy red hair wrangled into a bun.

"Don't call me that," she says, thin eyebrow raised in annoyance as she pushes her sunglasses up her face.

He sighs exaggeratedly. "It's summer! You're next to a pool. In your swimsuit. Aren't you going to go swimming?" Josh's heart pangs; she was never like this before. He wonders where she went, if she'll ever come back.

Dylan shrugs noncommittally, bringing her arms over her head and stretching. "I need to work on my tan."

Josh is silent for a moment, studying her. "Your tan is fine." He pauses. "C'mon."

She rejects the hand that is offered to her, "Where?"

His grin widens on his face impishly, self-satisfied and triumphant, disguising his inner turmoil. "You'll see."

Dylan purses her lips, but can't stop the miniscule curve toying on the corner of her lips. Shaking her head, she steps into a loose cropped tank top and a denim skirt. "You're terrible, Hotz."

Josh tips his head back, his baritone chuckle ringing out. "You love it."

"Shut up. Let's go."

xoxo

They're kissing. Josh doesn't know what happened, doesn't know if he wants to. There's strawberry and chocolate filling his mouth and it's the sweetest thing ever. They're both breathless and he can feel her icy lips moving against his, "Nice job, Hotz."

Josh pulls back to stare at her. He allows a smug look to settle on his face, before he leans forwards abruptly and nips her shoulder.

"Josh!" she squeals.

He gazes at her, lovable arrogance blatantly displayed on his face. "You taste like a midsummer's night breeze," he whispers.

Dylan observes him for a second before chortling. "You're so cheesy," she snorts and shakes her head. "It's not even night time. You're an idiot."

A flush spreads against Josh's cheeks and retreats nearly as quickly. "At least I don't sing in the shower," he sticks his tongue out at her.

She sulks, adorably, lower lip poking out, "I don't sing in the shower." She raises her head up at him, and blinks her wide eyes, "Well, I do. But sometimes! Like, not always. Shit, y'know what, we're not talking about this anymore!"

He swivels to peek at her, eyebrows furrowed, "Wait, you _do_ sing in the shower? I was joking."

She slants her eyes at him, and begins to giggle.

It reminds Josh of candies and daisies and everything right in the world.

xoxo

It's midnight.

It's midnight, and they're standing by the pool, fully dressed and alone. She's shivers slightly, even in the balmy air, and dons a simple sundress. Her face is makeup free. It's been barely a day, and the way she _lives_ has transformed, again. The invisible chains and dust weighing her down are lifting away, leaving her muscles relaxed and eyes bright.

She's never looked so beautiful.

"Josh?

A strain of a Lana Del Rey song plays faintly from somewhere far away; a beach party, maybe. He watches her through dark forelocks, a lop-sided smile carved into his tanned face. "Hey."

She catches the word, and maybe there's something in the air, maybe it's the time of day, the atmosphere, but there's something, _something, _pumping through their veins, in their heads and in their hearts.

"Hey," she murmurs back, approaching him slowly, lazily. Her feet slap against the floor as she walks, and the noise resounds through the air.

The syllable is smooth and warm like honey off her tongue and Josh relishes in it. He drops his voice, "Let's go swimming."

"What? No! Josh, the pool is closed. We shouldn't even be here."

"It's summer," he says, like so many hours ago. "Life's too short."

She gapes at him hesitantly, before a devious, dangerous smirk finds its way onto her face. There's a wicked glint in her eyes and Josh can't react fast enough when she shoves him roughly into the water. He rises, sputtering water.

Distantly, he hears shouting from the resort security guards who have just noticed the two teenagers. She only beams at Josh and hops daintily into the clear water. Dylan keeps her eyes open, even as she falls, her scarlet hair clinging to her limbs and her dress billowing out as the coolness embraces her.

There's angry yelling around them and water in their ears and it's the strangest feeling buzzing in them, but Dylan merely laughs, and Josh knows that this is the best he could have ever done.

* * *

this is kind of a more lol-zy, slice of life style that i've been working a lot with lately, but i probably kinda bombed it, so yea.

i tried to work fluorescent adolescence into the fic, but i dunno if it really worked, haha.

anyways, this was pretty bad and rushed and stupid, but i hoped you liked it! reviewwwww~


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